[OSEN] The government posthumously awarded actor the late Ahn Sung-ki the Geumgwan Order of Cultural Merit, the highest grade of the Order of Cultural Merit, on the 5th. As a measure to honor his contributions to the development of culture and arts and to the public's enjoyment of culture, Minister Chae Hwi-young of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism presented the decoration on behalf of the government.
This Geumgwan Order of Cultural Merit was his third decoration, following the Bogwan Order of Cultural Merit (3rd grade) in 2005 and the Eungwan Order of Cultural Merit (2nd grade) in 2013. It carried the meaning of officially honoring his role in leading the growth and leap of Korean cinema over about 60 years.
Ahn Sung-ki debuted in 1957 with the film Twilight Train and appeared in more than 130 works including A Fine, Windy Day, Whale Hunting, Two Cops, Silmido, May 18, and Hansan: Rising Dragon, leaving performances that spanned generations. In particular, through Silmido, Ahn opened the era of the first 10 million viewers in Korean cinema and was regarded as an actor symbolizing popularity and industrial growth.
Having won numerous awards at major ceremonies such as the Grand Bell Awards, Blue Dragon, and Baeksang, Ahn walked with Korean cinema as a "national actor." The deceased passed away at 9 a.m. on the 5th in the intensive care unit of Soonchunhyang University Hospital in Yongsan-gu, Seoul, with family at the bedside, and the funeral was held as a film industry funeral. The mourning altar was set up at Seoul St. Mary's Hospital Funeral Hall, and the cortege took place at 6 a.m. on the 9th.